By KATE BRUMBACK, Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — It’s raining harder and harder on the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, and ponchos, umbrellas and tarps aren’t enough to to protect the increasingly drenched — but largely enthusiastic — crowds watching the show on the banks of the choppy Seine River.
The skies were gray with intermittent drizzle throughout the afternoon. They cleared as the ceremony began, but rains picked up as the procession advanced down the river.
The national weather service Meteo France was predicting “flooding rains” later Friday evening as the parade of boats carrying athletes continues along the Seine River. The ceremony was always planned to go ahead — rain or not — starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.
There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures stayed relatively warm.
Paris resident Sophie Peret called the opening ceremony a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience and came prepared for rain with a poncho and an umbrella.
“We know Paris,” she said with a laugh, adding: “Even if it’s raining, we’re happy to be here.”
The drizzle paused briefly at the start of the opening ceremony, but spectators along the river that runs through the heart of the city pulled out rain ponchos and umbrellas as it started up again.
“Do you guys have ponchos to give out?” one man asked an Olympic volunteer.
The mood in the stands remained lively and people danced to music echoing over the river. But as the rain grew heavier, a small trickle of spectators with rain ponchos and umbrellas began to file out of the ceremony. The vast majority of people continue to brave the rain. Others ducked under trees.
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes paraded on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, were expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.
Associated Press writer Megan Janetsky in Paris contributed reporting.
